Film Review: The Upside

Sexuality/Nudity Mature
Violence Acceptable
Vulgarity Mature
Anti-Catholic Philosophy Mature

Kevin Hart is trying his hand at expanding his range and The Upside is a good first step.

Hart plays Dell Scott, a paroled ex-con who is is simply trying to get potential employers to sign a paper saying he looked for work.  He accidentally ends up at an interview to be the caretaker of Philip Lacasse (Bryan Cranston), a wealthy quadriplegic who has essentially given up on life.  While all the other interviewees are sickeningly tender, Dell's brash style impresses Philip and he decides to hire him.  This unlikely odd couple spend the rest of the film experiencing a whole new view of life.

Director Neil Burger does a good job at making these two worlds look and feel different.  Dell's ex-wife and son live in the Harlem Projects and you can feel the decay in their home eating away at them.  Philip's apartment is fancy but cold, lacking all warmth.  We also get some beautiful moments where music is brought to life in a stirring way.  In one scene, Dell brings Philip to the opera, the former is bored to tears and mercilessly mocks the strangeness of it.  However, the haunting beauty of the performance eventually breaks through Dell's cynical exterior and he becomes enamored with it.  It was quite a touching to see the power of art and its effect on the soul.  Dell returns the favor by introducing Philip to the beauty of the late Aretha Franklin.  Beyond this, Burger's direction is adequate, but lacks the emotional depth that this movie requires.

But this is not a movie that succeeds primarily on the visual direction, but on the performances.  Hart is very good as Dell and he found a character that allows him to play to his comedic strengths while letting him believably reach new dramatic depths.  He never quite breaks out of his comfortable performance space, but he does his job well.  Cranston, as always, is fantastic.  He plays his character with great restraint until his emotions boil over.  Philip is someone who has been wounded by life and Cranston holds his emotions in check as much as possible.  His performance is that of a man who has so little in his control that anything within his power is something that he grips tightly.  Nicole Kidman does a good job as Yvonne Pendleton, a former executive to Philip who now acts as his personal secretary.  Her part should have been expanded greatly, as there is a wonderful story here between her and Philip.  Their relationship is complicated and retrained, but sad and beautiful.  Kidman takes what the script gives her and fleshes out her character as best as she can.

The movie presents marijuana use and prostitution with accepting humor, which I always find uncomfortable.  The drug use is introduced in relation to relieving Philip's pain, but it devolves into recreational use.

Beyond that, the movie does have a wonderful pro-life message.  When the film begins, Philip is upset because Yvonne brought him to the hospital to save him from choking.  Philip does not want to extend his life.  His hiring of Dell is partially a response to this death wish.  But Dell pushes Philip to see that there is still much more to life.  This is not a simple message.  Sometimes when Philip is pushed, terrible things happen.  Dell goads Philip into pursuing a woman in whom he is interested (Julianna Margulies).  What follows is a scene that explores the complicated reality of the life of a quadriplegic.  And yet through everything, the film points to the inherent worth of every life and that there can be some great joy if you open your heart.

The Upside is a movie that is worth the watch but one that will probably pass from memory sooner rather than later.

image by Yasir72.multan